Automatic crimping presses have been used for a long time in the connector industry to run high-speed crimps of various ropes and harnesses, for example in the field of electronics, telecommunications and automotive electronics. In the crimping process an electrical and mechanical connection is achieved by pressing together the conductor in a crimp sleeve. The crimp height of the crimped contact is a key criterion to assess the quality of the formed crimp connection. Connections that do not meet the prescribed crimp height cannot be further processed.
Today the crimp heights are often measured manually, either directly on the wire-crimping machine or on a separate measuring location, for example, by making use of a micrometer or with a measuring device which is equipped with a digital gauge. Regardless of the method used, the crimp height can only be determined accurately by proper placement and orientation of the crimp in the measuring device. An incorrect placement and/or orientation gives rise to undesirable errors, this is not a problem in itself were it not that these errors cannot be recognized by the user as such (as a result of an erroneous manipulation).
So it should come as no surprise that today there has already been sought for solutions in order to meet the above-mentioned problems in determining the crimp height of a crimp connection. In a first approach, as described for example in EP 1780846, the measuring device is provided with mechanical tools which grab the crimp connection to be measured and provide a correct orientation and positioning of the crimp connection between the measuring head. In EP 1780846 the upper side of the measuring head comprises arms which are closed on the crimp connection, and thus ensure the horizontal orientation. In order to ensure that the crimp is centrally positioned between the measuring head, the underside of the measuring head is provided with a centering which only permits a measurement upon contact with the said arms. In a different approach, as described in US 2012/0263344, one will optically follow the placing of the crimp in the measuring apparatus, and give feed-back to the user. The optical measurement will also be able to correct limited errors in orientation and placement. The disadvantage of such optical methods is the absence of a tactile feedback to the user. In the first approach, the measuring device completely takes over the correct placement from the user. The latter is particularly useful in the light of the miniaturization wherein the compounds to be manipulated are becoming smaller and where there is a need for a maximum automatization.
Nevertheless there is still a need for simple measuring devices that address these problems. Therefore the present invention has the goal to provide a simple measuring device to determine the crimp height of a crimp in a reproducible manner.